


Vertical Stripes Aren't Your Color

by kibasniper



Category: Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: Banter, Canon Compliant, Colors, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Ficlet, Interior Decorating, Prompt Fic, guest starring liberace's palm springs home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27949496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibasniper/pseuds/kibasniper
Summary: Sasha and Milla have different opinions on how to decorate their short term apartment.
Relationships: Sasha Nein/Milla Vodello
Kudos: 15





	Vertical Stripes Aren't Your Color

**Author's Note:**

> the second of the ficlet requests from twitter! this is for cait who requested "Sasha and Milla discuss how to decorate their apartment. It’s going slowly."

The wallpaper Milla proposed elicited Sasha’s disgust. His entire body shuddered. His lips curled, and his eyes narrowed, revulsion making him stuff his hands into his pockets.

The overlapping and crisscrossing green, pink, and violet stripes had no business being on the white walls. Cerulean and bright red circles were haphazardly dotted within them. In the example MIlla presented to him from an architectural magazine, the colors reflected sunlight from an open window, casting a glare across the tiled flooring. Sasha knew if he had to stand in that unfortunate room, then he would have been permanently blinded.

“I’m thankful that’s merely a picture in a magazine,” he remarked, fixing his glasses.

Milla thumbed through the pages and stopped on a photograph of another room. “Well, Liberace’s Palm Springs home looks inspirational to me,” she said, a hint of a smile gracing her face as Sasha grimaced.

“That one? You must be joking,” he said, wrinkling his nose. The garishly mauve shag carpet clashed with the fiery red and orange curtains. While the diamond designs on the walls were fine with their relatively muted colors, the differing shades of pink meshed like static underneath the hardwood sink. The sight was an affront to his retinas, and he promptly turned away, stating it was no good.

Milla sunk into the couch cushion, sighing. She knew discussing home decor with Sasha was like trying to have a debate with a brick wall. She preferred her rooms with bright colors and stunning fixtures, reminiscent of a close knit party with its first impression meant to be welcoming and warm.

Sasha was a minimalist. He wanted function over flair. If the apartment design met his standards, then he saw no need to improve it unless otherwise convinced.

She supposed she understood why he was reluctant to add anything stylish to their apartment. It was rented by the Psychonauts for them under pseudonyms. They would only use the one bedroom apartment for two months as their base for a sting operation before leaving, but when Milla had entered the room an hour ago, she was more than disappointed.

It was painfully typical. White walls, hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances, a view overseeing nearby housing complexes, the apartment suited Sasha perfectly. The Psychonauts had also provided furnishing with oak desks and shelving. For the rest of the flat, such as their bedding and belongings, they were left to their own purpose.

“Darling, I still think this room is quite drab,” Milla said, turning another page. She rolled her eyes as Sasha hummed, his attention on the documents he taped on the nearest wall. Tracing her heel across the floor, she tilted her head. “At the very least, a shag carpet would bring in a real splash of color. What do you say, Sasha?”

He appraised the floor before letting his eyes fall on to their work desks. The room seemed less colorful during his inspection. The sandy brown desks and shelving were not as appealing without a contrasting color surrounding them. They appeared mottled with the white wall behind them and the darker brown shade of the floor below them. Cool hues were preferable, so he acquiesced with a nod and requested that she select a darker green or blue carpet when she went out shopping.

“Oh, that sounds perfect. Now, back to the wallpaper,” she said, drawing him in with a smile.

He arched an eyebrow. He thought he had definitively ended that discussion, but the humor in her gaze told him otherwise. “I don’t think we need any wallpaper, Milla. The walls are fine as is.”

“But just imagine it.” She stood up and swooped her arm out in a grand gesture. “Something soft and warm. Not too bright for your eyes, of course, but something striking all the same. Something that says poised, yet fun. It could really improve the mood of this place.”

Sasha saw it as she spoke. The yellow, triangular lines carved through the walls and mixed with emerald, rectangular patterns. Violet stripes swirled across them, painted by an invisible hand. Sasha rubbed his brow and dipped his head, distress creasing his lips into a thin line at the mere thought of staring at those tacky parallelograms.

“Need I remind you,” he said with as much gentleness as he could muster, “we are on a mission and this isn’t a beach house?”

Milla sighed and reclined back on the couch. She peered at Liberace’s Palm Springs home, yearning for those bright, distinct designs decorating every corner and corridor, but of course, Sasha made his point. They only had to live in the apartment for eight weeks, but she still wanted something that appealed to her, and she considered the shag carpet a small victory.

“The bedroom,” Sasha said, catching her attention, “could be a better place to decorate. After all, we will be using this space to work. In the bedroom, we can...” He shifted his shoulders. “...make better use of it.”

“Oh?” she piped up, the corners of her mouth lifting.

Sasha gripped his chin and faced the closed door to their bedroom. “Something warm like you said but muted,” he offered. “Nothing to distract us from the purpose of this operation. Our minds need to be focused.”

“No vertical stripes, I promise,” she said, setting aside the magazine.

Sasha sat next to her, chuckling behind closed lips. His mind was swift with ideas for dark color patterns, something to help him sleep at night when Milla reached over and took his hand.

“Maybe we can have one wallpaper in green and another in pink? They can be on opposite sides,” she offered, cozying up next to him.

“How very contrasting. We might have to discuss this all night,” he said, and she laughed, tossing her head back, the smile on his face brighter than the colors she envisioned.


End file.
